Cops, Church, Advocates and Crisis Counselors to Meet with Public About Homeless Killings

With more murders expected to bring more charges against a Yorba Linda man accused to preying on homeless men in North County (see this post), the multi-agency Homeless Homicide Task Force is joining forces with the Community Service Programs (CSP) Crisis Response Team, the Orange County Rescue Mission and Vineyard Christian Fellow to meet with the public--and especially our homeless population--Saturday afternoon.

The meeting is scheduled to run from noon to 2 p.m. at the church, 5340 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim.

"The purpose of this community meeting is to learn about personal safety, police protocols, and 'normal' stress reactions following a traumatic event," reads a statement from Sgt. Bob Dunn of the Anaheim Police Department. "Crisis counselors and members of the Homicide Task Force law enforcement agencies care about the safety and well-being of the communities they serve and will be available to you."

The Rescue Mission will also be accepting donated items that will then be distributed to the homeless, Dunn added.

The homicide task force and the participating entities also released the following joint statement:

RE: Community Meeting and Homeless Outreach

During the months of December and January, four homicides occurred that sent shockwaves through your community. Since the tragic serial killings you may be feeling a bit unsafe, jumpy or even disinterested in things that normally make you happy. These are all normal reactions to an abnormal situation.

The Homeless Homicide Task Force, in partnership with CSP Crisis Response Team, Orange County Rescue Mission and Vineyard Christian Fellowship respectfully invite you to attend a community meeting and homeless outreach. The purpose of this community meeting is to learn about personal safety, police protocols, and "normal" stress reactions following a traumatic event. Crisis Counselors and members of the Homicide Task Force law enforcement agencies care about the safety and well-being of the communities they serve and will be available to you.

Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before "graduating" to OC Weekly in 1995 as the paper's first calendar editor. He has contributed as a freelance editor and writer to several publications and been the subject of or featured in several reports online, in print and on the radio and television. One of countless times he returned to his Costa Mesa, CA, home with a bounty of awards from a journalism competition, his wife told him to take out the trash.